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haha, lots of haters on here as expected I guess. But I like this, be a hell of a device if the Pro version can run Diablo...

I think this is a good device from Microsoft, and it'll be priced well matching ultra books. This is more a shot at the 11" MacBook Air with an iPad twist i think.

"a good device from Microsoft" says it all.

really can't picture people clamoring for this thing. Apple has nothing to worry about. Apple's ecosystem, fluid UI, responsiveness, app quality etc will keep it in a league of its own.
 
It's both!

Actually, it's even better than that: on the ARM platform, only MS applications can be run in desktop mode: the MS Office Suite. I keep wondering what sort of backlash this MS-preferential "feature" will have on the platform.

The whole Win 8 offering is massively confusing.



Just imagine how pleased manufacturers shipping Win 8 systems are with MS's announcement. :rolleyes:

This announcement will push OEM's to android!

Not a bad effort by Microsoft, but the design isn't all that. Drop USB, drop the kickstand, and put 1920 x 1080 on the lower spec'ed model, and you'd have a much better device.

Still too boxy - looks like an adult Zune.
 
Of course, I completely disagree. Microsoft totally understand THEIR ecosystem - and the keyboard IS a killer feature for customers like ME.

Typing on the iPad or any other tablet sucks. Microsoft solved this problem elegantly. It's innovation Apple should have come up with to make the iPad an attractive device for people who have to WRITE a lot. But since Apple is mostly interested in selling content, that was the last thing they worried about.

With the Surface tablet, Microsoft is well positioned to bring tablets into businesses - their concept makes tablets actually USEFUL.

I have a question. And this is an honest question because I truthfully do not understand and would like to.

How is this different than an iPad with a bluetooth keyboard?

Both primarily rely upon touching the screen for navigation (Windows 8 doesn't have touchpad gestures unless they added them after the latest consumer preview). Both support physical keyboards. What is the difference?
 
Why did Microsoft announce this before it's ready to ship?

They've always done that, for whatever reason. Apple really understands the marketing aspects of announcing and getting people to buy immediately. I'm surprised Microsoft still has not figured this out; or they are just are not prepared as a company to produce units the way Apple is.

Will be interesting to see where Surface takes the tablet market. I think its interesting that the Apple hardware (iPhone/iPad) dictate iOS direction, while Windows 8 will dictate Microsoft hardware direction. Pretty fascinating for those of us who enjoy the tech for what it is and not what brand its behind.
 
Yes, and it just makes me want this Surface even more.

The keyboard is pretty cool I admit. Compard to all else iPad it isn't nearly as beautiful, and I really dislike the blocky windows screen. It also does'nt have such a great ecosystem, but it is probably closer than anybody through Xbox online. As a consumer I suppose this may push Apple to innovate more quickly. Hopefully this forces Apple to release the iPad mini (hope they don't call it that) where it is needed. As a shareholder, AAPL has been moving sideways for awhile, moving significantly to back to the upside today... But now that this abomination isout, it's going to confuse things quite a bit, likely pushing AAPL down. Luckily it's not out yet, until around xmas anyhow, and actually more importantly it'll take a long time for MS to be able to sell it in China, where the growth for iPad is incredible. Bottom line, I don't like it at all, and this thing is going to be a problem for my money for what could be awhile. Damnit.
 
^ If you think that this isn't competition to the iPad then you should never, ever go into business.

With all due respect - specs don't really matter to the mainstream consumer for whom this is targeted for. The want something "like" the iPad... but with a keyboard. And it has to look nice. IMO Microsoft has accomplished that part. But like I've mentioned before... it comes down to the price and the breadth of the marketplace.

No disrespect taken - specs don't' matter - but seriously, what good does this tablet got over an existing iPad retina? The price is the determining factor but you can see how that worked out for android tablets.

that keyboard on the cover is so thin (without having to use it myself), it seems like why even bother when it's seems so close to a touch screen. Vaporware at best.

The kickstand is because the damn thing is so boxy and heavy, it needs one.
there's no app store, no battery life spec, nothing. How does this even compete? If you keep tabs on vaporware specs, then this is a clear winner.

All I know from business school is that if you are selling millions upon millions of iPads and generating billions in profits each quarter, you are doing everything right. This announcement is just that - a preview of what's to come and it has a huge battle; that's a battle between microsoft and android tablets. NOT the iPad.
 
I hope Google has something utterly amazing for Google IO, otherwise the Android tablet market is as good as dead.

As far as we know, the largest market for Android is the smaller 7" tablets, which this Microsoft product doesn't address at all.

Also I wonder if large OEMs will start looking more into Android after seeing Microsoft becoming a competitor in the hardware scene.


Of course, I completely disagree. Microsoft totally understand THEIR ecosystem - and the keyboard IS a killer feature for customers like ME.
...
With the Surface tablet, Microsoft is well positioned to bring tablets into businesses - their concept makes tablets actually USEFUL.

Funny thing is, Apple actually tried to once emphasize the availability of the keyboard dock when the first iPad debuted. They are distancing iPad from the keyboard more and more as time goes by.

But one important distinction: Win RT isn't the traditional Windows ecosystem.
 
You do know Zune software doesn't come on Windows PC by default right?

And yes its true....you can google it if you want. What exactly do you find "wrong" with Zune video?

You can rent, you can buy you can download you can stream in 1080p.


What a terrible product....

You do know that iTunes doesn't come on Windows by default either right? But it's there on a large number of them. I'm saying that I'm sure MS pimps the Zune store every chance it gets with it's VAST number of OS licensees. Do you think it matters that it's there by "default"? They have a huge pulpit to reach people without bundling it. I never said it's terrible by the way...in fact...I believe I quite praised the Zune Pass service. I just think if it is second (which I find quite hard to believe and will need to see "real" numbers on) that it's not that impressive when first is so far away...
 
Sharp ad, but it obfuscates the most important bit: the UI.

Metro is really an acquired taste that I don't think most people have an appetite for.
 
The keyboard is pretty cool I admit. Compard to all else iPad it isn't nearly as beautiful, and I really dislike the blocky windows screen. It also does'nt have such a great ecosystem, but it is probably closer than anybody through Xbox online. As a consumer I suppose this may push Apple to innovate more quickly. Hopefully this forces Apple to release the iPad mini (hope they don't call it that) where it is needed. As a shareholder, AAPL has been moving sideways for awhile, moving significantly to back to the upside today... But now that this abomination isout, it's going to confuse things quite a bit, likely pushing AAPL down. Luckily it's not out yet, until around xmas anyhow, and actually more importantly it'll take a long time for MS to be able to sell it in China, where the growth for iPad is incredible. Bottom line, I don't like it at all, and this thing is going to be a problem for my money for what could be awhile. Damnit.

Er, just wondering. How would this push Apple to release a 7 inch iPad? Even assuming this would push Apple do to anything it would push them to make thinner Macbook Airs (which they're probably doing anyway).
 
I have a question. And this is an honest question because I truthfully do not understand and would like to.

How is this different than an iPad with a bluetooth keyboard?

Both primarily rely upon touching the screen for navigation (Windows 8 doesn't have touchpad gestures unless they added them after the latest consumer preview). Both support physical keyboards. What is the difference?

As someone who uses BT keyboard with iPad a lot, it is different. Right now, I have to carry 2 separate items (or at least have a small bag with me).

But, what could hurt Microsoft is announcing and not shipping. The iPad/keyboard combo cases will be the next hot thing, watch.
 
Of course, I completely disagree. Microsoft totally understand THEIR ecosystem - and the keyboard IS a killer feature for customers like ME.

Typing on the iPad or any other tablet sucks. Microsoft solved this problem elegantly. It's innovation Apple should have come up with to make the iPad an attractive device for people who have to WRITE a lot. But since Apple is mostly interested in selling content, that was the last thing they worried about.

With the Surface tablet, Microsoft is well positioned to bring tablets into businesses - their concept makes tablets actually USEFUL.

Then again I believe the iPad recognizes Bluetooth keyboard and some iPad accessories offer the keyboard functionality.

The fact is Apple in itself doesn't believe that people buying iPad right now are looking for a physical keyboard.
That's not to say that in the future, once the iPad / iPhone hardware becomes powerful enough, mobile devices will not replace computers for a majority of consumers...

That's why Apple researches Bluetooth keyboard for the iPad, and Airplay screen mirroring & wifi printing etc..
 
Of course, I completely disagree. Microsoft totally understand THEIR ecosystem - and the keyboard IS a killer feature for customers like ME.

Typing on the iPad or any other tablet sucks. Microsoft solved this problem elegantly. It's innovation Apple should have come up with to make the iPad an attractive device for people who have to WRITE a lot. But since Apple is mostly interested in selling content, that was the last thing they worried about.

With the Surface tablet, Microsoft is well positioned to bring tablets into businesses - their concept makes tablets actually USEFUL.

It looks pretty good. I dont want to go back to Windows but I was getting tired of my iPad (I had both of the first 2 versions.). Typing on glass does suck and I was always adding apps - including jailbreak - to get it to do more and work around Apple's arbitrary limitations.

My solution was just to get a MacBook Air 11". It's about the same size as the iPad and I've got all my full apps. Of course, it's more expensive and the battery doesn't last as long and I wish it had a touch screen, but I haven't regretted the switch for a second.
 
Can somebody explain to me why Microsoft could not match the screen resolution of the iPad 3? To me it's going to be a tough sell when you have the two devices side by side.
 
so sad to see people post about this thing being made out of plastic

guess I gotta rethink everything about MAGNESIUM
 
Yay for Pen Input on the pro model!

But as someone else pointed out, sure hope the pro model isn't locked down to prevent other OS's from being installed.
One of the requirements of Windows 8 tablet with Intel is that the user can choose to DISABLE the built-in Secure Boot from UEFI. Take that for what it's worth.

Windows RT, however, must have Secure Boot enabled, and there's no way to disable it.
 
Kickstand work both ways?

I wonder if you can use the kickstand to sit it up a little instead of standing it up. I don't use the iPad that much standing up...for causal games and other things it makes sense to lay propped up a bit instead of totally standing.

The keyboard is a nice innovation; typing on the iPad does pretty much suck unfortunately. It's ok for a short post (like what I'm doing now) but its not good enough for getting real work done.
 
As someone who uses BT keyboard with iPad a lot, it is different. Right now, I have to carry 2 separate items (or at least have a small bag with me).

But, what could hurt Microsoft is announcing and not shipping. The iPad/keyboard combo cases will be the next hot thing, watch.

There are a fair amount of iPad keyboard/cases out there now. A competitor focusing on them could indeed drive sales higher, but i wonder ... You don't see that many in the wild.
 
Not impressed with the ad

They didn't even show it powered up until the last second of the ad. How can anyone get excited over that? I didn't watch any of Microsoft's presentation, so I hope there was more details, but for an ad to show it off I thought it was a fail. The biggest attraction was an accessory for it. We'll see.

Mike
 
What this announcement implies is that Microsoft was getting no traction in convincing other vendors to build a tablet for Windows RT. Some may have been willing to put it on hardware designed for their Android tablets, but do nothing special.

The RT version will have to be no more expensive then the iPad 2 and equal battery life, as it has no other (described) features that sets it apart from an iPad 2. To gain any real foothold will likely require pricing more in the $299 - $349 range. If it is $499 or $599 without a retina display it is DOA.

The Pro version may have a shot if the enterprise buyers adopt Win 8. I see this as potential competition for ultrabooks. It will have little impact on MacBook Air or iPad sales.
 
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